Ladbrokes Coral Director of Stadiums Ian Smyth hopes to have the 490m distance as the standard at Hove by the second quarter of 2019.
As reported yesterday, the track have held their first sessions over the shorter distance with Smyth getting feedback from trainers. It seems that sentiments were mixed with some trainers opting to retain the 515m course.
Smyth said: “It was an interesting discussion, bearing in mind that some of the trainers had originally opted for the shorter distance because they felt 515 metres was too tough on young dogs.
“We will monitor whether there are additional racing incidents with the 490. If it transpires that there are, we will review it. Personally, I wonder whether first bend problems will be increased or decreased if the dogs aren’t going into the bend at full pelt.
“Assuming we do introduce the 490 as the standard, it doesn’t mean we won’t run 515 metre graded races, there will just be less of them.
“As far as open racing is concerned, we are talking to GBGB about the possibility of a new ‘Cat 1’ event over the new course early in the year. The Sussex Cup and Olympic will continued to be staged over 515 metres. We will also continue to run minor opens over both distances.
“The first 490 metre minor opens and graded races will take place in December.”
